With Tasmanian salmon now more sustainable than ever before, Tasmanians deserve to know where Federal Labor stands on the future of the industry.
The Tasmanian Government has identified Storm Bay as an area for the expansion of salmon aquaculture as part of the 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania's Future.
Visiting Storm Bay and the Tassal Remote Operations Centre on Thursday was Minister for the Environment, Madeleine Ogilvie, and Federal Shadow Minister for the Environment, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Jonno Duniam. At the facility, Minister Ogilvie congratulated the salmon producer on improvements in feed efficiency and environmental monitoring and noted how innovation and technology can further enable the sustainable farming of salmon.
"Opened seven years ago, the remote centre has helped to deliver a lower carbon footprint through improved feed conversion ratios and real-time monitoring, which is good for the environment.
"Science-led initiatives such as these allow us to achieve the best outcome for the industry, environment, and Tasmanian community. Supporting innovation and scientific research to achieve environmentally sustainable outcomes is central to our approach.
"While it seems that Federal Labor is recklessly determined to shut down Tasmania's world-class salmon industry – our Liberal Government is committed to growing the industry in an environmentally sustainable way, supporting thousands of jobs," Minister Ogilvie said.
Federal Shadow Minister for the Environment, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Jonno Duniam, called on the Federal Government to announce a positive EPBC review decision on salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour before the upcoming Federal election.
"Tasmania's salmon industry has again proven to be a world leader in environmental sustainability. It's well past time that Federal Labor recognised that by ending the uncertainty that they have inflicted on Tasmanian workers.
"Julie Collins and Anne Urquhart must obtain an ironclad commitment from the Prime Minister and Environment Minister that a decision will be made before the Federal election and that there will not be any job losses for Tasmanian salmon industry workers.
"Anything less is a cop-out," Senator Duniam said.
